The present invention relates generally to specimen-handling tools and carriers for use in diagnostic testing.
In the medical arena, diagnostic testing is frequently performed to determine if a particular medical condition is present in a given patient. Diagnostic testing systems, which may be referred to as test kits, are manufactured to test for a wide variety of conditions in numerous types of biological test specimens, such as, for example, blood, tissue biopsies, and saliva. Such testing systems may be utilized to determine the presence of particular bacteria, such as Helicobacter pylori. Some tests that have been proposed to detect Helicobacter pylori include those that are disclosed in numerous U.S. Patents, including, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,113 to Marshall, U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,804 to Boguslaski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,801 to Jackson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,911 to Whalen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,840 to D""Angelo et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,985 to Cripps et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,156,346 to Chen et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,556 to Lee et al., each of such patents being incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
Particular embodiments of the present invention relate to a specimen-handling tool for use with a diagnostic test kit that includes an elongated body having a longitudinal axis that extends along the length of the elongated body, a first end and a second end. The first end may include an outermost portion that is adapted to manipulate a tissue biopsy specimen. The outermost portion may be formed as a truncated crescent so that the tip of the truncated crescent is not aligned with the longitudinal axis of the elongated body. The first end may also include an upper surface and a lower surface that is generally inclined toward the upper surface. The upper surface may be generally inclined toward the lower surface in selected embodiments.
The second end of the specimen-handling tool may include a curved upper surface. The specimen-handling tool may also include a gripping portion that may be disposed between the first end and the second end, and the gripping portion may include at least one rib.
The specimen-handling tool may include, in selected embodiments, an elongated body having a longitudinal axis that extends along the length of the elongated body, a first end and a second end. The first end may include an outermost portion, an upper surface, and a lower surface, the upper surface being generally inclined toward the lower surface, the outermost portion being formed as a truncated crescent. The second end may include a concavely curved upper surface.
A gripping portion may be positioned between the first end and the second end of the elongated body, and the gripping portion may include at least one rib. The elongated body may be roughly cylindrical in shape.